1. Does narrow / wide Grade Span Configurations affect test scores?
"our research findings indicate that K-4 and k-5 schools are fairly even in terms of fourth grade CMT test score; whereas, the K-2/3-5 schools score consistently lower in reading, writing, and math that the K-4 and K-5 schools." This research study reported the K-4 and K-5 schools were almost exactly even on terms of CMT test scores, but the K-2 / 3-5 schools were four to five percentage points lower on average in each category. The CMT is the Connecticut state assessment.
Grade Span Configuration Research Study, Erica Barber for Families for Region 14 Elementary. 2006
In a study using the Michigan Education Assessment Program test,data was collected on the passing rate of students in 232 schools.
Research question 1: What is the relation between grade span configuration and student achievement? "A simple linear correlation was performed to evaluate the relationship between grade span configuration and student achievement. The data revealed a significant positive correlation (.26, p<.01) between grade span configuration and achievement." In other words, as grade spans increases so does achievement. The Effect of Grade Span Configuration and School-to-School Transition on Student Achievement. Wren, Stephanie. 2003
Howley (2002) relates the strength of the K-12 schools in his study (which he calls “The Texas Miracle”) to the fact that these schools tend to be rural and smaller. He also notes that they are the only schools in their districts (boards). Further, he attributes these schools with improving the performance of students with low socioeconomic status. If student achievement is considered as a factor in calculating education costs per student, then the K-12 schools are among the most cost effective models found.
2. Does the number of transitions impact student achievement?
"In the face of multiple grade spans, students naturally must make the transition from one school to the next. A student will experience the usual novelties associated with grade advancement, such as a more challenging curriculum and, perhaps, some different faces in class. But additional changes accompany the transition to a new school: a different facility, unfamiliar teachers and administrators, new constellations of friendships and classmates, different expectations for student conduct, and so on. While there is not a plethora of research on this topic, the evidence suggests that the transition effects are largely negative."
Asplaugh's 1998 study showed that students placed in small schools for long spans of time tend to experience better educational outcomes, which overlap into the students' high school education. (p.25)
In a study using the Michigan Education Assessment Program test,data was collected on the passing rate of students in 232 schools. Research question 2: What is the relation between grade span configuration and student achievement?
"A simple linear correlation was performed to evaluate this relationship as well. The data revealed a significant negative correlation (-35, p<.01) between transition and student achievement." In other words, the more transitions a student makes, the worse the student performs. The Effect of Grade Span Configuration and School-to-School Transition on Student Achievement. Wren, Stephanie. 2003
First, the evidence rather clearly suggests that the tendency to create narrow grade-span configurations reinforces the bad habit of building larger and larger schools. Larger schools damage educational equity for everyone, and they undercut educational excellence in impoverished communities, according to a growing body of evidence.
Second, every transition from one narrowly configured school to another seems to disrupt the social structure in which learning takes place, lowering achievement and participation for many students. Predictably, this damage will be most severe in the cases of students from impoverished backgrounds. Short of providing an adequate living for poor families, we can at least restructure our educational system to mitigate the detrimental effects of poverty. A logical move seems to be smaller, more broadly configured schools--and smaller districts. Source: Grade-Span Configurations by Craig B Howley School Administrator 50 no3 24-9.
3. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to students academically at risk?
4. Is there any increase or decrease in discipline issues with the proposed plan?
"Given the findings in this study it is fair to say that the configuration of grades is not related to problem behavior, and the
challenge is for future researchers to explain why not."
5. Does grouping of grade levels increase cohesiveness of curriculum?
6. Does narrow vs. wide grade span impact attendance rates?
7. How does breaking up grade levels at elementary schools impact parent involvement?
research completed by Moffit (1996) concluded that narrow grade spans have a negative impact on family-school partnerships.
Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Kathy Gregg
"Professor Wasley’s 2000 study of small high schools in the city of Chicago revealed:
Students reported feeling safer and more connected with adults in these schools. Teachers reported a greater sense of efficacy, job satisfaction, and connection with parents, as well as more opportunities to collaborate with other teachers, build a coherent educational program, use a variety of instructional approaches, and engage students in peer critique and analysis. Parents and community members reported increased confidence in the schools. (Wasley, 2001, p. 23) SOURCE: Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Achievement Equity, and Cost Efficiency (by: Kathy Gregg)
8. Does the number of elementary schools vs. 1 consolidated elementary school impact student achievement?
A 500 student school with grades K-8 is not the same "size" as a school with 500 students in grades 3-4. The first is a "small" school with 56 students per grade, the second is a "large" school with 250 students per grade.
Dollars and Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools (Knowledge Words Foundation, September 2002)
"Today, however, a substantial body of new research demonstrates that decreasing grade spans, thereby increasingthe number of students per grade, and multiplying students’ transitions from school to school negatively impacts student achievement. This new research suggests that the most equitable and cost efficient means of delivering high student achievement is through smaller schools with broader grade spans. District policymakers should analyze and consider the findings of this new body of research beforemoving in an opposite direction. The decision the district makes will not only impact student achievement in this district, it will also affect the students’ success as they transition into large public high schools." SOURCE: Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Achievement Equity, and Cost Efficiency (by: Kathy Gregg)
"As grade span configuration increases, so does achievement.The more grade levels that a school services, the better the students perform. The more transitions a student makes, the worse the student performs. Asplaugh (1998) found that students who transitioned from multiple elementary schools and merged into one middle school experienced greater achievement loss compared to those students that transitioned from a single elementary school into one middle school. Grade span configuration and school-to-school transition must be given serious consideration given their obvious impact on student achievement." SOURCE: The Effect of Grade Span Configuration and School-to-School Transition on Student Achievement (by Stephanie D. Wren)
Finally, the K-12 school is a vanishing organizational form. Early evidence suggests, however, that the K-12 school is doing good educational work. It would be a better idea to build more of them rather than continue to shut them down. Building more of them, however, will require that we think very differently about educational leadership, educational purpose, community, the structure of educational systems, and--indeed--about curriculum and instruction. Too many of today's K-12 schools are probably aping the elementary-middle-secondary norms of practice--designed for large systems relying on specialists and crowding out generalists and community. Source: Grade-Span Configurations by Craig B Howley found in School Administrator 59 no3 24-29 Mr 2002.
9. Are social relationships affected by grade spans?
School transitions impose stress on students and negatively influence schools' identity and sense of community. (p.6)
Ron Renchler (2000) Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Kathy Gregg
Dr. Craig Howley (2002) suggests that "each transition from one narrowly configured school to another seems to disrupt the social structure in which learning takes place." (p.27)
Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Kathy Gregg
"The division of elementary schools into configurations that include fewer grades requires that students make several transitions from one school to another. Researchers note that transitions can be stressful for students:
Alspaugh (1999) found a significant achievement loss during each transition year. He also found that some students regain what is lost in the following year, but it would seem that students who make fewer transitions need fewer years to make up for achievement losses caused by transitions.
Another study found that each time students switched schools, their feelings of anonymity increased. Researchers who found that sixth-grade students in both elementary and combination K-12 schools outperformed students in middle schools or junior high schools considered the number of transitions a significant factor. This study considered 8 schools with 7 different grade spans with student populations of 82 to 1,200. The schools were located in both urban and rural settings in 5 northwest states. The number of grades in the schools ranged from 1 to 11 (Paglin & Fager, 1997).
Another research study found that girls in early adolescence suffered from a drop in self-esteem, extracurricular participation, and leadership behaviors when they made the transition into middle school or junior high, but not if they remained in an elementary school setting. This study found that the effects of this transition lingered throughout the school years. For boys, the study found similar negative effects in extracurricular participation and grades, but not in self-esteem, when they made the transition into middle school or junior high. The authors concluded that the relatively protected elementary school setting made the entry into adolescence less stressful for both boys and girls. The students who had not had the stress of the earlier transition seemed to cope better with the transition into high school than did other students (Simmons & Blyth, 1987).
Franklin and Glascock (1996) found that sixth-grade boys experienced more suspensions in middle schools or junior high schools than in elementary schools, possibly related to the effects of the transition, the school organization, or school size. This study was based on information gathered from all Louisiana public schools during the 1992-1993 school year."
SOURCE: Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting (http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/poptopics/gradeconfig.html)
Educational Research Committee Questions:
1. Does narrow / wide Grade Span Configurations affect test scores?
- "our research findings indicate that K-4 and k-5 schools are fairly even in terms of fourth grade CMT test score; whereas, the K-2/3-5 schools score consistently lower in reading, writing, and math that the K-4 and K-5 schools." This research study reported the K-4 and K-5 schools were almost exactly even on terms of CMT test scores, but the K-2 / 3-5 schools were four to five percentage points lower on average in each category. The CMT is the Connecticut state assessment.
Grade Span Configuration Research Study, Erica Barber for Families for Region 14 Elementary. 2006- In a study using the Michigan Education Assessment Program test,data was collected on the passing rate of students in 232 schools.
Research question 1: What is the relation between grade span configuration and student achievement? "A simple linear correlation was performed to evaluate the relationship between grade span configuration and student achievement. The data revealed a significant positive correlation (.26, p<.01) between grade span configuration and achievement." In other words, as grade spans increases so does achievement.The Effect of Grade Span Configuration and School-to-School Transition on Student Achievement. Wren, Stephanie. 2003
- Howley (2002) relates the strength of the K-12 schools in his study (which he calls “The Texas Miracle”) to the fact that these schools tend to be rural and smaller. He also notes that they are the only schools in their districts (boards). Further, he attributes these schools with improving the performance of students with low socioeconomic status. If student achievement is considered as a factor in calculating education costs per student, then the K-12 schools are among the most cost effective models found.
http://www.sd75.mission.bc.ca/districtinformation/pdf/Configuring_Schools_by_Wayne_Seller.pdf2. Does the number of transitions impact student achievement?
- "In the face of multiple grade spans, students naturally must make the transition from one school to the next. A student will experience the usual novelties associated with grade advancement, such as a more challenging curriculum and, perhaps, some different faces in class. But additional changes accompany the transition to a new school: a different facility, unfamiliar teachers and administrators, new constellations of friendships and classmates, different expectations for student conduct, and so on. While there is not a plethora of research on this topic, the evidence suggests that the transition effects are largely negative."
http://libraries.maine.edu/cre/41/NO%2041.thm- Asplaugh's 1998 study showed that students placed in small schools for long spans of time tend to experience better educational outcomes, which overlap into the students' high school education. (p.25)
- In a study using the Michigan Education Assessment Program test,data was collected on the passing rate of students in 232 schools. Research question 2: What is the relation between grade span configuration and student achievement?
"A simple linear correlation was performed to evaluate this relationship as well. The data revealed a significant negative correlation (-35, p<.01) between transition and student achievement." In other words, the more transitions a student makes, the worse the student performs.The Effect of Grade Span Configuration and School-to-School Transition on Student Achievement. Wren, Stephanie. 2003
3. Is there any advantage or disadvantage to students academically at risk?
4. Is there any increase or decrease in discipline issues with the proposed plan?
- "Given the findings in this study it is fair to say that the configuration of grades is not related to problem behavior, and the
http://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/1903/2112/1/umi-umd-2082.pdf, IS GRADE SPAN ASSOCIATED WITH THE LEVEL OF PROBLEM BEHAVIOR AMONG EIGHTH GRADERS? AN EXPLORATORY INVESTIGATION, Gina Ann Rasmussen, M.A., 2004challenge is for future researchers to explain why not."
5. Does grouping of grade levels increase cohesiveness of curriculum?
6. Does narrow vs. wide grade span impact attendance rates?
7. How does breaking up grade levels at elementary schools impact parent involvement?
- research completed by Moffit (1996) concluded that narrow grade spans have a negative impact on family-school partnerships.
Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Kathy Gregg- "Professor Wasley’s 2000 study of small high schools in the city of Chicago revealed:
Students reported feeling safer and more connected with adults in these schools. Teachers reported a greater sense of efficacy, job satisfaction, and connection with parents, as well as more opportunities to collaborate with other teachers, build a coherent educational program, use a variety of instructional approaches, and engage students in peer critique and analysis. Parents and community members reported increased confidence in the schools. (Wasley, 2001, p. 23) SOURCE: Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Achievement Equity, and Cost Efficiency (by: Kathy Gregg)8. Does the number of elementary schools vs. 1 consolidated elementary school impact student achievement?
- A 500 student school with grades K-8 is not the same "size" as a school with 500 students in grades 3-4. The first is a "small" school with 56 students per grade, the second is a "large" school with 250 students per grade.
Dollars and Sense: The Cost Effectiveness of Small Schools (Knowledge Words Foundation, September 2002)9. Are social relationships affected by grade spans?
- School transitions impose stress on students and negatively influence schools' identity and sense of community. (p.6)
Ron Renchler (2000)Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Kathy Gregg
- Dr. Craig Howley (2002) suggests that "each transition from one narrowly configured school to another seems to disrupt the social structure in which learning takes place." (p.27)
Elementary School Grade Span Configuration: New Evidence on Student Achievement, Kathy GreggSOURCE: Clearinghouse on Early Education and Parenting (http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/poptopics/gradeconfig.html)